When to contact coaches... current junior

This is a good question for your HS coach. If they can't answer then they know another HS coach who has experience with HS runners go through the recruiting process (which may or may not include scholarship consideration).

Most state HS athletics federations don't have indoor track, so most college coaches will only be interested in your outdoor results after your junior season is over.

Your HS coach should help you summarize your progression with freshman-sophomore-junior XC and track seasons that you can share with college coaches at schools that you are interested in.

Low 4:20s for the 1600 is not likely to get any admissions help from a D1 coach, but it should with D3. Be sure that you meet with a coach and current team members on your on your campus visits or speak to them on the phone. If you dont get help with admissions, but you apply and are admitted, make sure that you can walk-on the team if you are still interested to do that.

Thanks for your perspective. I will talk to my coach. From other posts I've read it seems like high school coaches don't agree or can't figure out why coaches recruit certain guys and not others with similar PRs.

Part of my question is whether I should contact these coaches before I go on these visits or not. Is it a waste of time to make contact now just to tell them my current PR's and let them know I'm coming for a campus visit on a certain day.

What kind of time range would I need to hit to get an admissions pushh to get me on a team, without money, as opposed to me deciding to attend the school and walking on, as I'd like to avoid this situation and go where I'd have a spot.

I've searched through some older posts but didn't find any that talked about the timeline for non money runners who aren't looking to walk on after admitted. Maybe there is just no interest in these kinds of runners until late spring of senior year?

Is there anything to gain by contacting a coach before you've run under 4:20?

In general:

D1: Sub-4:20

D2: Sub-4:30

NAIA/D3: Anytime

According to milesplit (usually similar database to athletic.net), only 51 sophomores ran under a 4:20 last year, 21 juniors have run under 4:20 indoor this year and 6 have juniors have run under 4:20 in states that have already started outdoor this year. I'm guessing that of the 27 that have run it this year, half of them are the same guys that ran it as sophs. So, only 50-70 juniors and footlocker finalists should be contacting coaches? I'm not doubting it (well maybe I am a little bit) but it seems pretty limiting.

My experience is only with D3 highly selective LACs but from that perspective I'd encourage you to contact coaches sooner rather than later. My son went through a very similar experience with similar stats and benefited from the relationships he built with some of the coaches. The ones that were interested seemed to appreciate the dialog and asked him to keep them updated on PRs and his overall progression.

Thank you. Do you think my academics are going to be an issue at academically competitive D3? I'm considering Wash U and Emory as possible D3 schools.

I'd think you're probably at the lower end of the acceptable range just based on academics. You'd benefit greatly from a coach's support of your application which would tip the scales in your favor. The key is to get the coach interested in you. For highly selective colleges like the ones you're considering it isn't always entirely about times. They're also looking for cultural fit and other intangibles. We had greatly varying degrees of interest from coaches of comparable schools. It depends on their existing level of middle distance talent, their recruiting pipeline and god only knows what else. Best of luck!

What's the harm in contacting them early, and the contacting them again after this season?

good enough for this? wrote:

Thank you. Do you think my academics are going to be an issue at academically competitive D3? I'm considering Wash U and Emory as possible D3 schools.

I would contact them today by email. Include why you would be good for the team and try and add a reason beside your times. Also put in why you like the school. Maybe they will ask you to visit campus and they can show you around now while school is still in session. It's a great time as neither college or high school big meets are going on. Over the summer is not the best time and during XC you both will be busy again. April is the best month for visits.

I'm not familiar with the times of the kids at Wash U but I believe your times are better than some of the kids at Emory.

What would the equivalent times be for women?Thanks

Pure Speculation wrote:

In general:

D1: Sub-4:20

D2: Sub-4:30

NAIA/D3: Anytime

It sounds like you know what you need to run to get money and you are not there yet for D1. That said, it doesn't hurt to check out the school and coach in your junior year. When my kids went through it, the coaches they contacted in spring of junior year were all very approachable. We visited several campuses and were able to arrange separate visits with the coaches during that time. One kid turned out not to run for anyone but the other got pretty good as a senior and wound up being recruited pretty heavily. It helped to have been to the campuses in both cases.

I will agree with the masses that you are not yet ready for D1. Have to get under 4:20 for pretty much any of them that give money - there are some D1 schools that don't have scholarships for track athletes but yet they have track. Even at under 4:20, most D1 schools aren't interested until you are under 4:15, and even then just a little bit.

Might sound like it's not that many athletes, but a 4:19 runner just doesn't command much scholarship money if any. Colleges only have 12.6 scholarships to give out for track and cross country combined.

If you go the D3 route, WashU is a better choice than Emory.

One other thing to think about is that the coach will likely want you to apply ED which may or may not make sense for you given your situation (e.g., FA). But regardless the coach will want to see a demonstrated interest in attending the school which should include visit, interview, overnight with the team, etc. if possible

Thanks for advice. It's not about scholarship dollars at this time. I know that I'm far removed from that right now. What I'm wondering is how the process goes for someone in the low 20's or high teens who is looking to be part of a team without money, but not walking on after I've been admitted. Am I understanding right that I couldn't even get this kind of commitment from a coach unless I'm under 4:15?

D3Dad... I'm grateful to my parents that money/FA isn't something I need to worry about. I'd be okay with early decision at the right school.

Thanks. I think so will e-mail. Im visiting a few schools in late March and early April so maybe there will be a coach around.

Thank you. Your experience is helpful information. Two of the D1 schools I'm really interested in I already visited, but it would be great to go back.

Email the D3 coaches now. You have nothing to lose. Don't be scared.

I would wait till you break 4:30 to email pretty much any D1 but it would still be OK to.

My only experience is with NESCAC but the process was:

1. contact coaches at schools you're interested in...share your stats (running and academic) and any other information that would be helpful in evaluating you as a candidate

2. be persistent and enthusiastic but not annoying

3. gauge the coach's interest

4. ideally the coach from your top (or one of your top) schools shows interest

5. coach will have you speak with current team members to get better sense of the team, culture, etc.

6. schedule a visit with the coach on campus and be prepared to have your transcript, test scores, etc. which you'll review with the coach. Coach may ask about whether you're applying for financial aid and any other questions that helps him determine if you're a good candidate for admission. He only has so many applicants that he can support and he doesn't want to waste time with someone who isn't strong enough to get in. He's also going to be very interested in you applying ED

7. schedule an overnight visit.....usually in conjunction with the above. Spend time with the team....go to classes, meals, etc.

8. if everything looks good and you're still feeling great about the school, team, coach, etc he will bring your credentials to the admissions office and get a read from them on your chances for admission

9. assuming everything works out you'll apply, be admitted and be part of the team.

I am a current DIII coach at a relatively high academic school and have previously coached at a lower DIII and an NAIA and ran DI in a power 5 conference, so I have a pretty broad perspective on how this works.

As a college coach, I would say definitely contact the coaches at the schools you are interested in right now as a junior, especially at the DIII schools. What level of DI schools are you looking at? If they are top teams with good milers then you may want to wait a little longer for those schools. If you're looking at a lower level team or mid-major that lacks good milers then I would probably contact them right now. Depending on each school's admissions process, most college coaches are trying to seal the deal on seniors right now and are starting to look towards juniors. Your grades are probably border line for academically prestigious schools like Emory, so applying early to those schools next year is definitely helpful in most cases at schools that have limited spots. Coaches have influence on admissions at most schools, so getting to know the coaches now gives you time to build a relationship with them and get you on their radar. I would recommend contacting coaches and setting up unofficial visits at schools you are interested in this spring to get a feel for each school and then next year you can apply early to your schools of interest and do official overnight visits at your top choices of schools. College coaches are super busy this time of year recruiting and running their own track teams, so if you don't hear back right away, wait a month and try again, because they may have just gotten busy and forgot to respond right away. It also helps to fill out the questionnaires online so you get added to their recruiting data bases. In a letter to coaches, use professional business letter writing and introduce yourself, state why you are interested in the school and team, and give your times, grades, and other pertinent information to help them evaluate you. I am always very impressed when juniors send me letters like that, because half the emails I get are unprofessional with several typos and texting lingo used or are sent by seniors very late in the process. Most coaches have their top group of senior recruits somewhat set by the fall and then fill in remaining spots as the year goes on, so it definitely helps to get on their radar before that.